Monday, November 23, 2015

Met Georges Khodr: The Foolish Rich Man

Arabic original here.

The Foolish Rich Man

Today's Gospel reading tells us about a rich man who was preoccupied with his wealth. Jesus explains to us in this parable that when someone sets his heart on money, he will not have room in his heart for anything else. And in general, if we place anything or anyone in our heart to rule over us, there does not remain in the heart a place for anything else.

The meaning of this text from the Gospel is that money is subject to man, that money is something that we use, not something that uses us. Money is acquired, not loved. Therefore it must be distributed from time to time, under the current system in which we live, when it becomes an impediment to our moral life.

The Gospel talks about a person who wanted to accumulate possessions for himself without anyone sharing in them. So that they would remain his alone, he wanted to build storehouses and warehouses larger than what he already had. He said to himself, "Enjoy this life. Eat, drink. All of life is food and pleasure. All of life is riches and what they buy."

So spoke this man, whom the Bible describes as foolish. The foolishness is that he only approached pleasures and did not take pleasure in God. He did not love the Creator. His soul was empty of his Lord and full of lust. That is, in reality it was nothing. It vanished with the vanishing of lusts; it degenerated with the degeneration of pleasures.

How is money an instrument and not the goal of our efforts? Everyone knows that they can become possessed by money rather than remaining master over it. Money is in principle a servant which can transform into an object of worship. Because the Master knows this, He said, "You cannot serve both God and money." Whether or not you have much or little money, if you love it like it is the object of your longing-- that is, if you live not only with it but for it-- it takes God's place in your heart. At that point it governs your actions insofar as at the height of your longing for it, it becomes the object of worship in your heart, even if it is hard for you to admit this. This is, however, how things are. Money is the object of worship for many, both rich and poor. They sorrow to the point of fear when they lose it and it is their only real source of happiness; no other happiness is equal to it.

In the actual situation of the soul, it is possible for money to rule over you and for you to lead your life only in order to acquire it, for your happiness to end at that point. In the ultimate fall, you prefer nothing over it, no matter what you claim. At that point, you have no place for emotion and in your great attachment to it, you have no family and no friendship and perhaps you have no place for piety towards them. Money becomes a real god in the sense that it occupies all your interest, all your mind, all your heart and everything else becomes for you a fantasy, a myth or a lie. In the most extreme attachment to it, you will sacrifice all people, even those closest to you. It is like a living person for you. When people say that someone is a 'lover' of money, they are not exaggerating. The word is apt.

Even romantic love fades when it is eclipsed by the love of money.

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